As you leave the Auckland city boundary the landscape changes to lush farmland. You'll pass the fertile Hauraki Plains - one of New Zealand's largest dairy producing regions. Pass the Thames Estuary arriving into the old gold mining town of Thames, there are two different routes to the east coast of the Coromandel. Either directly over the Coromandel Ranges or north to Coromandel Township along the Pohutukawa Coast (part of the Pacific Coast Highway).